


Flower You Today?

by Charlie_is_Not_Cat



Series: I'm Not Alone [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, Flowers, Language of Flowers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, human mage, other characters to be added - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-02-07 23:05:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12851439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie_is_Not_Cat/pseuds/Charlie_is_Not_Cat
Summary: A time ago, there was a powerful child able to grow many bountiful plants.She was abandoned.A new time ago, a skeleton came into her park.Unknowingly, she claimed him as her own.





	1. The Interest

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by:   
> Papyrus Dates a Bird: A Tale of Sorrow, Happiness, and a Little Thing Called Love by WatteauYouDoing   
>  Honey, We Bee-Long by EvergreenEmerald

There is not much to do in my park. Most days I sit and watch the humans trample the grass and rip up my clovers and flowers. At night, I regrow them only for the same thing to happen the next day. It’s become… ‘redundant’ I think is the word.

 

There is one thing I’ve found to pass the time, besides my plants. 

 

Every afternoon, precise and like clockwork, a skeleton visits my park. He just appeared one day, walking the same path lined by my carnations and lavender. Sometimes he brought another skeleton along, but I’ve learned not to watch as close when that one is around. He’s nearly caught me watching them several times, and something tells me I wouldn’t like the results of my presence being known.

 

It’s been a year since then, his company constantly changing. It was good he was so well liked, but seeing him surrounded by all those companions made me feel something… unpleasant. 

 

I learned to stay away on days he brought large groups.

 

But, other than that, this skeleton has been rather amusing to watch. Just the thought of him visiting my park sparks my motivation. 

 

As in, I grow different flowers just for him. 

 

At first, he didn’t seem to notice. But when he began bringing along one of his companions more often (it was a human child, I think) they pointed it out to him. The puzzled look of wonder on his face made something in my chest feel warm, and he spent the following few weeks trying to figure out the “BEFUDDLING OCCURRENCE!” as he called it.

 

But then, one day, he came to the park with someone new. I didn’t like the woman, in all honesty, and neither did the aster he tucked into her hair. But, he looked so happy.

 

For the first time since I saw him, I looked away. My chest ached after that.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------

 

Two months have passed, and I have kept to the forested part of the park as winter’s cold kiss killed my weaker flowers. My cyclamen dot the park’s shadows while my hellebore has claimed the areas near benches. 

 

Looking out at the park, that ache in my chest becomes more prevalent. It’s been empty, as no one wants to brave to cold just to walk the muddy paths. Not even the skeleton has graced my park with his presence. 

 

Maybe, the spot over there needs more flowers? 

 

I stride out from the trees, winter heath and snowdrop springing up from where my feet have been. I long to bring out my crocus, but the winter is still young.

 

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D ACCUSE ME OF THAT!” 

 

The sudden scream startles me, wilting some of the nearby flowers. I coax them back, whispering soothing words, before investigating. 

 

There, in a part of the park I usually fill with gaillardias and black-eyed susans, three figures stand in argument. I probably would have walked away right then, for such things are un-amusing and rather stressful to witness, if I hadn’t noticed two of the three were skeletons. 

 

“listen, avery. we’ve put up with your crap all this time, but this isn’t the first time you’ve tried to off one of us. you almost killed the kid and my brother, so this relationship is terminated.”

 

“Papyrus, you can’t seriously believe this baseless crap?” The disgusting woman turned to my skeleton, beseechingly. I was too far away to see his expression, but when he dashed away, I knew how his chest must’ve ached.

 

“paps!” the shorter skeleton reached out, trying to stop my skeleton. He’d turned his back on the woman, who was tensed.

 

“Vile woman,” I uttered, my low voice carrying. The two turned to look at me, startled that anyone else was there. 

 

_ Then again, people judge how others look,  _ I think as I wave my hand at the woman. She screams as she becomes entangled in dutchman’s pipe.  _ I haven’t the foggiest idea of my appearance.  _

 

I begin to walk closer, I see the wretched woman clutching an odd branch in her hand. She’s panicking, as behind me flowers are no longer sprouting, but a thicket of thorns and black grass are spreading. 

 

Examining the branch, I recognize it as something often used for bad. Many lives have ended in my park with this.

 

Glowering at the beastly bitch, I grab the branch away from her, hissing as its large thorn cuts into my hand.

 

“You are not ever welcome in my park,” I growl. “And if you ever hurt the skeleton or his companions again… well,” my voice goes soft as something I’ve thought of tugs a smile to my lips. “I have friends in many places. You’ll know when I find out you’ve crossed me.” I hold out my bloodied hand for emphasis. From the wound, a small sapling began to grow, to the woman’s terror.

 

“HELP!! MONSTER! FREAK!!” She struggled against the vines that held her captive, the sapling in my  hand now distinguishable as a cypress sapling, about six inches tall. 

 

“Fear this tree, for it will mark your days, growing wherever you go, until I find you.” With that, I let her go, screaming and crying about the “Monster”. 

 

_ Another potential name, I suppose.  _

 

I turn to the shorter skeleton, and feel an uncomfortable feeling in my chest and gut. He’s staring at me, fear evident on his face. I couldn’t help but marvel however. Since my skeleton began coming to my park, I’ve never once gotten a close look at him. His companion was softer looking, if bone could be soft, with a mouth much like the ones children drew in chalk on the sidewalk.

 

Now is not the time to ogle, however.

 

“I can take you to find him,” I say, using the same soft tone I used with my flowers. His-- eyeholes?-- narrow as little, dim, lights appear in them.

 

“who are you?” 

 

I sigh. 

 

“I don’t know what you mean by that, but I wish to find the tall one as soon as possible.” I start walking, forcing him to trail after me. 

 

“what’s your aim here, lady?” 

 

“Aim?” I cock my head to one side, my pace unwavering. 

 

“why’re you keen on helping us strangers.” Danger, danger.

 

“This is my park. The tall one frequents it, and that… puts a warmth in my chest I don’t often have.”

 

The short one goes quiet, and the walk from there on is quiet. 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

We found him in my favorite grove, sitting on a stump that has been there longer than I. The shorter one makes a move towards my skeleton, but I stop him.

 

“Don’t speak of me to him.” I whisper.

 

“why?” The short one asks, an accusatory tone to his voice. 

 

“Why” indeed.

 

“Please.”  _ Why am I so insistant? _

 

He looks angry, and is about to say something else, when we both hear it. The tall one,  _ my skeleton,  _ is crying. It makes me want to catch that woman and smother her with nightshade. 

 

Instead, I wave my hand, breaking the rule of winter growth, summoning a patch of flowers too early and unusual for the season. Sprigs of chervil, blooming honey flower, hawthorn and lilac primrose. And in the center, just for him, a single crocus. 

 

Turning to the shorter one beside me, I hold a finger to my lips, then usher him forward. He raises an eye bone, then strides out from our place in the forest.

 

“paps?” The sobbing stutters a bit as my-- Paps-- looks up at his companion. The look on his face made my chest ache and water well in my eyes.

 

“OH BROTHER. I FEEL SO STUPID. YOU AND FRISK WERE RIGHT.” The shorter skeleton, Brother, smiled sadly at Paps. Then, he gasped, pointing at the ground in front of the taller one. 

 

The look I first saw all that time ago replaced the tears, and warmth crept into my chest, though now the water was spilling from my eyes.

 

_ You deserve to be happy, Paps. _


	2. Bonding Over Water Sausages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter. But, I am happy I got it out. Hope you enjoy. Character's name will be revealed Chapter 5.

It was about a week after Papyrus broke up with Avery and Sans had come face to face with his brother’s flowery stalker. 

Sans was on his way to his vending job in the park, hands in his pockets and a slight frown on his face. Well, as close to a frown as he could get.

It had been a struggle to not just flat out tell his brother to stay away from that park. Coincedently, he didn’t have to say much at all, as Tori had invited everyone to go sledding at her place as snow began piling up in heaps. School got cancelled for Frisk, and Papyrus’ boss called to let him know he’d have the week off due to a driver hitting a patch of black ice and crashing through the front door of the restaurant he worked for.

But, of course, surface snow tends to not last long, and soon school was back in session and the monsters had to go back to their own jobs. 

_ not paps though, _ Sans thought. That was probably for the best though. Avery knew well enough where the younger skeleton worked, as well as his usual routines. 

His thoughts went to the threat the stalker had made to Avery after pulling the knife by the blade from her hand. 

Her anger alone had been intimidating, and, coupled with her little show, she had been terrifying. But then, she’d helped him find Paps, and attempted to cheer up the younger skeleton.

_ i wonder how much of that had been an act. _

  
  


Sans stood behind his hotdog stand, thoughts barely on his job as no one in their right mind would brave the cold for a ‘dog, unless they’d lived in Snowdin at some point.

As the bitter wind ruffled the fluff on his hood, another oddity appeared walking down the park path. 

A cute, pink nose sniffed at the air as a pair of mischievous green eyes zeroed in on the unsuspecting monster. The stranger’s quick stride soon had them standing right in front of the stand, eyes scanning the menu for something.

“Excuse me?”

The voice jolted Sans from his focused thoughts, his gaze flicking up to meet the eyes of a customer. The thing that stood out to him the most, was her hair. On the red scale, it was on par with Undyne, only hers was styled in what he’d heard referred to as a “pixie-cut”. A small smile curved sweetly between two, rounded cheeks.

“I’m sorry to ask what may be a silly question, but I could smell cooked Typha earlier, but I can’t find it on this menu. Is it safe to assume that this is where I could find it?”

“welp, if it wasn’t, i’d have lined up the ‘assume’ joke,” Sans dropped one of his eye sockets in a lazy wink. “But, you’ve assumed correct.”

The excited gasp threw the skeleton for a loop as the woman in front of him began to bounce on her toes, her green eyes wide enough for him to distinguish her narrow pupils.

“I haven’t had cooked Typha in sooooo looooong! How much?”

Sans referred her to the menu, explaining that ‘dog -apostrophe dog- was the Typha. As the woman reached for her wallet, she paused as a thought seemed to cross her mind.

“Could you make it two? My… daughter has never had one before.”

Sans shrugs. “sure.” 

After handing her the ‘dogs, a customer friendly smile on his face.

“have an _ ice  _ day, Ma’am.”

The woman thanked him, the pun flying over her head. Eh, it happens.

Watching as she walked away, Sans couldn’t help but notice the sharp tips of her ears as they poked out from the short cut of her hair.

  
  


I was laying in my burrow, where I protect something very important, as well as things I collect from my park when the humans have gone. I was rubbing my fingers over the cut on my palm, the blood having crystallized since then, leaving a glass-like scab where it was. 

I was staring at the important thing-- or was I glaring? This thing was the only reason for my existence. It had a use for the future. 

A sudden, delicious, smell filled my burrow, my only warning before I was snatched up from my dirt bed and smothered in a hug.

“Guardian! How are you, Sweetie?” I relaxed as I noticed the red hair in my peripheral.

“I am well, Druid.”

 

“I thought you said our kind could not consume meats,” I said, somewhat accusingly, as I stared at the thing in my hands, holding it as though it would bite me.

Druid tapped the top of my head lightly with a small, pink shoe from my collection.

“Learn to listen, Oh-Unnamed-One. My “kind” is not your “kind”. Your “kind” is modeled after the Princess there,” she points the little shoe at the important thing. “Who, in the before, was able to eat meats. You just happen to be made of different things.”

She points the shoe back at the thing in my hands. “Besides, that is a plant. Now eat it before it gets cold.”

I frowned, before, slowly, taking a bite from it. It was really good.

“What happened to your hand?”

“A human.”

Druid raised an eyebrow at me.

“You revealed yourself to a human?”

“I revealed myself to a human because they hurt something of mine.”

Druid pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing heavily.

“You and your possessiveness. No wonder the Elder Circle have their roots all in a tangle.”

I took another bite as a thought seemed to strike my caretaker.

“But, since when has trampling the bushes you grow made you angry enough to jeopardize the Princess’s safety?”

“Because they did not harm the park.”

Druid stared at me, a familiar look of panic in her eyes.

“Impette, you have to be forward with me. Why did you reveal yourself?”

“...”

“....”

“She made  _ my Paps  _ cry.”


	3. A Peony For Your Thoughts?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Readers may cry. 
> 
> Author tested.
> 
> (Then again, author is just a crybaby.)

Sans was in the process of moving his stand to another part of the park, when he came across a rather amusing sight. The red haired woman from earlier was kicking a trash can, muttering heated things under her breath. In this instance, her resemblance to Undyne (sans the blue scales and fangs) was uncanny. 

“you okay there, buddy?" 

The woman looked up quickly, tensing when she saw the skeleton. 

“Um… how long have you been standing there?”

“not long. need somebody to talk to?” 

The woman raised a sharp eyebrow. For a moment, they both stood there, the human sizing the monster up. 

Finally, her shoulders relaxed.

“You know what? Yeah. I could use someone to talk to. You don’t mind listening?"

Sans smiled a bit wider.

“i’m all ears, lady.”

 

A short while later, the pair had situated themselves on a bench, the woman rubbing her hands together nervously.

“It’s my daughter. Some days I don’t know what she’s thinking, and today I found out she did something stupid that got her hurt.”

The woman began fiddling with the tip of one of her ears as she rambled on.

“I’ve always known she was protective of her things, but lately she’s become possessive of one thing. It’s gotten to the point where she’s hurt others. And there are people in our… family circle that could use this connection to break her.

As if she hasn’t been through enough. First she feels like a replacement, her real mother abandons her… URRGH!” She cuts herself off as she angrily scratches at the sides of her head.

“What kind of mother am I? She doesn’t even call me “Mom”, and she’d rather be nameless for the rest of her life.”

A skeletal hand rests on the woman’s shoulder.

“hey, it’ll be okay. you’re there for her, right? i’m sure she’s grateful for you taking her in and protecting her when she needs it.”

They share a smile.

“Thanks.” She smiles wearily.

“no problem. but, what’s the whole ‘nameless’ thing about?”

“Long story that requires having been there to tell,” the woman shrugs. “I really can’t tell it because my daughter has been going through some kind of phase of ‘everything-is-bad-my-life-is-tragic-but-you-don’t-wanna-know-the-specifics’."

“whoa. edgy much?”

“I know.” The woman glances down at her wrist.

“Whoops. I’ve gotta train to catch.” She stands quickly. 

“Thanks for talking with me, Mr. Skeleton.” 

“no problem, ms. human.”

Sans’ reply made the woman snort.

“That’s a first,” she muttered, walking away.

  
  


Winter turns to spring, and yet my lethargy stays. I blame this lingering feeling of emptiness. Every winter, I end up getting trapped in my burrow, staring at the important thing. Supposedly, it’s face is also my face. But it is human. It’s been made very clear I am not.

And this is why I am traversing through my park, mood black and miserable. 

Even the soft grass, still dewy in some areas, could not lift my heart. And, as I walked aimlessly, I could feel my eyes prickling as water welled. Why?

That was the question. And it roiled in my consciousness, like a nest of angry hornets. Never, since I made my home in the park, have I felt so empty. So angry. So… so….

“Unwanted.” I blink, the water finally dropping from my eyes. I hadn’t realized I couldn’t see where I was going. As I stood in my grove, I stared at the stump where my skeleton had sat, broken. 

Did that also mean that I too am broken? 

And then, it came again. That awful question.

Why?

“I feel empty.”

Why?

“I am angry.”

Why?

“I am expendable.”

Why?

“Why….” My voice sounds odd. I am breathless, and it’s hard to get out the words. The water is flowing faster.

“Why is he not coming?”

“UM, EXCUSE ME?”

I gasp, startled for the third time in my existence. There he was, standing on the other side of the clearing in all his wonder. I saw the sunlight encompass him, as though he brought it with him.

I suddenly felt something in my chest, like something was swelling. I felt hot too, like I’d somehow been thrown into the peak of summer.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU WERE CRYING, SO I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS-”

I panicked. Turning on my heel, I charged through the brush, much to my skeleton’s surprise.

“AH! WAIT!!”

I didn’t listen, my fear and shame taking over. 

 

The tall skeleton stood in shock as he watched the young woman flee from him with surprising speed and agility. Though it was nothing new when he met humans unexpectedly like that.

No, his surprise came from the trail of flowers left in her wake. Petunias and peonies rising from the ground. And, near his foot, grew a pink carmelia that had not been there before


End file.
